But then again, some Nigerian ladies
travel all the way to Badagry to make their hair. The popular ‘one
million braids’ is one unique style that has drawn ladies from
far and
near to the city of Badagry.
However, Badagry is yet very popular for
another trade… snakes! Yes, there is a market in the heart of the city
that is meant for buying and selling of snakes.
Popularly known as Snake Market, and as
incredible as it may sound to so many people, the market is busy, if not
busier than every other market where normal everyday stuff is traded.
Perhaps because it operates every nine
days, it could account for the reason the market is so busy as thousands
of people from Nigeria and neighbouring countries come to trade in
nothing else but snakes.
From Benin Republic with love
The snake sellers in particular are mostly
non-Nigerians. Most of them are from neighbouring Benin Republic and
also Togo and because they find a huge market for their crawling wares,
they readily and eagerly look forward to every nine days to come and
make some money.
Hubert Boni, a Beninese who has been in
the business for over 10 years, said he rears snakes and brings his
stock to Badagry to sell every week.
“In my community in Benin, we don’t
even eat snakes. Snakes crawl freely in our compounds. So, when I
realised that there was a huge market for them here, I decided to make
it my business and since then, I have received a lot of patronage from
people from Nigeria in particular,” he said.
Roobert Ake is another Beninese who comes
all the way from Cotonou to sell snakes in the market in Badagry. Ake
said he took over the business from his late mother who was into it for
more than 15 years.
“My mother taught us this business.
She is Nigerian though we are not conversant with her family in Nigeria,
we don’t know them. We make an average of N20, 000 as profit on this
business every market day. We have a snake farm in Cotonou and we bring
them down for people who know the worth here in Nigeria,” he said.
Brisk business for buyers
Taiwo Osueke is one of the people who travel all the way from her Igando, Lagos base to Badagry to source and buy snakes.
Osueke, who runs a restaurant, said she
leaves her house as early as 4am in order to get to Badagry around
6.30am so as to get a good buy.
“The market is filled with so many
people and as such, I have to come very early. I buy different species
of snakes from these men from Benin Republic. The prices differ. It all
depends on the size of the snake. If the snake is small, I could get it
for as cheap as N500 each but if it is the large sized one, I buy if for
N1,500,” she said.
Osueke said her restaurant has become so popular and she doesn’t mind the stress she undergoes in order to get her stock.
“Most of my customers would rather go
for snake meat than beef or fish. I use snakes to make soups to serve
food and I also use some to make pepper soup. It all depends on what my
customer wants,” she said.
Same could be said for Basirat Akinlade who said she has been selling snake pepper soup for more than 12 years.
Based in Meiran, Lagos State, Akinlade said she got into the business when she realised how lucrative it is.
“I used to sell ponmo (Cow hide),
assorted meat before selling cow tail. But then, I realised that
everybody was doing that business. It was just too common. So I decided
to do snake business. I started selling snake pepper soup and people
started coming to patronise me.
“The business is more lucrative than
what I was doing before. We are just few in the business and we can’t
even cater for the number of people that eat it. Many people do not have
the heart to carry a snake, let alone killing it and cooking it. That
has just left the business to be run by few people. That is why I enjoy
it because I make a lot of money from it.
“For it to be edible, it takes a lot
of processes. But I love doing it and it is my job so I don’t mind the
process involved. I am known everywhere when it comes to snake business.
The business has taken me to Ibadan, Ogbomosho, Oshogbo, Port Harcourt
and so many other places. I am invited to parties. People request for
snake pepper soup and meat specially,” she said.
Akinlade who deals in roasted and fresh snakes, said she also brings in live snakes but only on request.
“I bring live snakes for those that
request them. They are more expensive than the dead ones. Some people
who order for snakes may decide to use them as pets, I wouldn’t know why
they would ask for live snakes but I do buy them for some people,” she said.
For these snake merchants and others,
there is nothing like having phobia for snakes. They are not among the
set of people who cringe or get repulsed at the sight of these reptiles.
Akinlade said, “Snake hasn’t bitten me
before. I am not scared of snakes. There is no animal that is not
scared of human beings. If I am processing it and the scale pierces my
body, I just remove it. Some people will tell you that the scale is
poisonous but it is not true; it is all based on superstition, there is
nothing like that.”
Another buyer, Joseph Ganiat, who lives in
Badagry said he doesn’t believe in any cultural or religious stigma
associated with snakes.
“I have not seen snakes in my dream
before. I don’t have any reason to be scared of snakes. They even know
that when I see them, I would just kill them. The one that is very
popular is meno meno. People love to eat that one a lot. Cobra tastes
like stock fish. I ‘rush’ the snake any time I see it and it is tasty.”
In her own remarks, Akinlade added, “I
don’t know if God cursed snake but it doesn’t matter. Christians and
Muslims eat snakes. There is no way I will see a snake and run away. In
fact, no snake can even come here. Since the bones are usually thrown
away and they perceive the smell, they would crawl away. Snake meat is
not unusual. It is something I do all the time. My dream is that this
business will take me outside the shores of this country where I will be
going to supply snakes to people abroad.”
While agreeing that so many people are scared of snakes, Akinlade says she uses it to her advantage sometimes.
“At times, when I alight from a bus, I
will just bring out two of the snakes from my sack and I would pretend
as if I am a snake charmer and the conductor will just tell me to please
go with my money,” she said jocularly.
‘Snake meat freshens our skin’
Cow tail, goat meat, turkey, fish and even
snails are among the popular meat that take most guys and ladies to
joints to sit out and have a good time while drinking some bottles of
their choice drinks. Snake meat hasn’t always been part of the menu.
But at the moment, snake meat is gradually
taking the centre stage as some Nigerians are having a good time while
‘downing’ plates of snake pepper soup over drinks. To most of them,
there is nothing as refreshing and tasty as snake meat.
Our correspondent visited a snake pepper
soup joint at Ejo Village, Meiran, Lagos and saw so many men – young
and old – devouring plates of pepper soup as if their entire lives
depended on it. According to most of them, snake meat freshens their
skin and cures their ailments.
A fashion designer who gave his name as Obama said he enjoys snake meat more than any other meat.
He said, “Other meat including fish or
cow meat is something you can eat every other day. But snake is not
something you can see every day to eat. I am not scared of snake. If you
don’t try to harm it, it will not bite you. Snake is good. If you eat
it all the time, it will freshen your body and your face will be
shining. I can eat snake about three times in a week. My wife and
children eat snake. Even my colleagues also eat snake. If you eat fresh
snake, I am not sure you would want to eat any other thing. If you use
it to cook soup and eat it with fufu or amala, then it is out of this
world. Snake is just too sweet and I enjoy it a lot. I don’t feel
uncomfortable eating it. Is it not meat?”
As for Segun Oladimeji, who is also based in Lagos, there is nothing like snake meat as he also claimed it freshens his skin.
“ I come here every day to eat snake
meat. The fresh one is just perfect. I have been eating snake meat for
six years and I come to Ejo village in all these years to eat snake. I
discovered this place one day when I came from Lagos Island to see a
friend of mine. Just as I got to his house, he said he would love to
entertain me. He suggested we go to a drinking joint. He brought me here
and ordered snake pepper soup. Since that day, I have remained hooked
to snake meat. Snake is not a bad animal. It is good for the body. It
freshens my skin. I can attest to that. Anytime I can’t make it here
physically, my wife comes to get it for me,” he said.
‘Snake is like every other meat’
Another snake eater, Sesan Deinde, who
spoke to our correspondent, said there is no day he doesn’t eat snake
meat regardless of the general perception about it.
Deinde believes that snake meat is like
every other meat and should not be perceived differently or seen as
something repulsive.
“If I don’t eat it, I don’t know what
will happen to me. It is true snake is dangerous but that is only when
it is alive. When it has been killed, it is like any other meat. Some
people may say they don’t eat rat but I tell you, if rat is prepared
very well, you will still see people rushing to eat it. So snake is
edible and highly nutritious. For me, it even cures certain sicknesses
in my body. My grandfather used to eat snake.
“I used to call snake panla. It tastes
just like stockfish. I eat both fresh and dried snake. Fresh snake is
different from the dry one. If my wife sees me eating snake, she
snatches it from my hand and eats it before her own is brought. She also
cooks snake for me at home. All other meat is rubbish; snake is the
perfect meat to eat. You know it is different but it is something
everybody can eat. Some people said it is not in their culture to eat
snake. But for me and my family, there is no culture like that. We eat
our snake and nothing has happened or will happen to us. We enjoy it a
lot. I am not aware that it is associated with evil; some people just
sit down to form what is not true about snake. In the Old Testament in
the bible, some things were cursed and said it should not be eaten. But
when Jesus came, He said everything is good. That is why I am eating
it,” he said.
Another lover of snake meat, Rotimi
Akeredolu, agreed that where he comes from, eating snake is not popular
but that hasn’t stopped him from enjoying it anytime he comes across it.
“Oh, there is no doubt about it, I love
eating snake. I wouldn’t say snake is part of popular meat in Yoruba
land but some people eat it occasionally. Those who enjoy it so much do
not hesitate to settle down for a meal of their delicious meat at any
given joint where it is being sold.
Akeredolu said he started eating snakes when he was very young and has not stopped and may likely not stop eating the meat.
“We used to kill it in our farm, take it
home, cook it and eat it. It is true that it is not popular in this part
of the country as a staple; that is why you will not go to any party
and be served a plate of snake. But really, people misinterpret it. Some
people think it is a taboo to serve snake meat or even eat it. They may
even think you want to poison them. But that is not true. I am used to
eating snake. It is not strange to me.
“Anybody who says he or she doesn’t
eat snake would not have had anything to do with the farm. But I am a
son of a big farmer and we used to kill and eat snakes. If my father
weren’t a farmer, I may not have been used to snake. I may not have had
the opportunity of eating it. The first time I ate a snake was in 1969, I
was in Modern 1. My father had employed one man, Mr. Ayeni, to be in
charge of his farm. Ayeni had seen a snake entering a hole but he called
me and deceived me that we should kill a rabbit which he saw had
entered the hole. I did not waste time at all and I began to dig. I
would dig and use my hand to scoop out the sand. I never knew there was a
snake inside. However, it was just God that saved my life. As I was
about to dip my hand inside the hole with the aim of dragging the rabbit
which I erroneously believed was there, lo and behold, the black cobra
emerged and I was scared because that was not what I expected to see. As
it struggled to escape, we were able to overpower it. We took it home
and cooked it and we ate it. That was my first time. I eat all edible
snakes. There are some that are not edible. Snake may not be my
favourite meat but that doesn’t take away the fact that I love and enjoy
eating it.
From a nutritionist’s perspective
A Lagos-based nutritionist, Mr. Okunola
Oladimeji, said there is nothing wrong in eating snakes. To him as well,
snake is like every other meat but even healthier.
“Snake belongs to the class of
reptiles. I am very sure that snake is a very good source of calcium and
protein. There is nothing dangerous about consuming snakes. It is just
that there is this belief that snake is evil and that makes a lot of
people not to eat it. I don’t eat it but I have a lot of friends who eat
it and they enjoy it. I have eaten it before in any case and I know
there is nothing wrong with it. I would simply advise that if it is
convenient for you and you find it okay, you can continue eating it. It
is a healthy meat to eat,” he said.
Source: Punch
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